Oceanside unveils deal to develop massive park site

Company would get 25-year lease to develop property

A San Diego company would get a 25-year lease to develop portions of the 465-acre El Corazon former sand mine in the center of Oceanside into athletic fields for tournament play and community use, under a proposal unveiled Tuesday.

Sudberry Properties also would get a 12-year lease to develop about 65 acres of the property on Oceanside Boulevard for commercial use that could include retail shops, restaurants, hotels and other athletic related activities, the city's real estate manager Doug Eddow said Tuesday.

The details of the long-awaited plan were revealed at a meeting of the city's Economic Development Commission, which voted unanimously to endorse the proposed agreement. The plan is tentatively set to go to City Council for approval Dec. 19.

Under the terms of the deal, the city would collect annual rent on the athletic fields of 10 percent beyond gross revenue of $1.4 million.

The 25-year lease on the property for the athletic fields would come with the option to extend it for an additional 20 years in 10-year increments, Eddow said.

The 12-year lease on the commercial property would come with the option to renew it for 10 years in five-year increments.

The rent earned by the city on the commercial property would be determined by a formula based on the construction costs of whatever Sudberry builds, the company's financing costs and the rent it collects from its tenants, Eddow said.

Sudberry would agree to spend $3.3 million developing the athletic fields, a parking lot and other amenities related to the fields. Sudberry also would be responsible for maintaining the fields, at no cost to the city.

In exchange, the city would pay $1.4 million to grade the area where the athletic fields would go, Eddow said.

Commission member Hugh LaBounty, who was chairman of a committee that worked on the plans for El Corazon, said the proposals presented by Eddow “while not perfect” were “a good starting point” for the ultimate development of El Corazon.

The agreements spell out in detail how the fields will be used, Eddow said.

Sudberry would build 20 “all purpose athletic fields” that would be used primarily for soccer and two additional fields for city use.

The company must make five of the 20 fields available during the week and on weekends to the Oceanside Soccer Club.

Eddow said that would free up five other fields elsewhere in the city that are now used by the club.

Sudberry would have to have 28 major soccer tournaments a year and two Surf Cup tournaments annually, Eddow said.

Surf Cup tournaments now held in San Diego bring in about $23 million in revenue, Eddow said.

The agreements outlined by Eddow include what he said was an ambitious work schedule with grading to start by June and the fields to be available for tournament play by July 2014.

Development of the commercial property is less certain.

The plan is for the city to retain ownership of the property and lease it to Sudberry but the agreements include a provision which would give Sudberry the option to buy the land.